Eagle Flight. July Vol 18 Issue 7

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1 Eagle Flight July 2018 Vol 18 Issue 7 Club Contact Information President: Andre Perez (631) ruse215@msn.com Vice President: James Simonetti (516) james@lidesign.com Secretary: Bruno Sidor (631) bjsidor01@optonline.net Treasurer: Joe Tito (631) joet77@optonline.net Safety Officer: Jim Corrado (631) From the Editor In my model airplane career, I ve tried gliders, rubber-powered free-flight, U-control and RC. I have watched EDF, turbines, helicopters and quadcopters. But I had never seen a Magnus Effect RC Plane. Have now. Fascinating! If you are like me in that regard or want a change of pace from your common, everyday RC plane, go to YouTube.com and type in the phrase highlighted above. By the way, there is much truth to the saying There is nothing new under the sun ; the Magnus Effect has been around for a long, long time in one-scale. Let me know what you think. And on another front, I was at a sister-club s field the other day to watch RC planes in flight. Among the offerings was a teensy twin-engine, electric-powered Aero Commander with wheels the size of pin heads, or so they seemed. After a couple of futile attempts at rolling takeoffs, the pilot picked up the plane in one hand, his transmitter in the other and, using his nose, chin and cheek to move the sticks, proceeded to execute a perfectly, to me at least, controlled hand launch. For some time, I have been intrigued by the many 1100mm WW-II era scale foamies available and, in fact, have one that I have flown a couple of times. Our paved runway works as long as the grass tufts are pretty short, but a takeoff or landing on the grass strip often leaves the main landing gear on the ground somewhere behind the plane and, consequently, some ugly stuff on the belly of the plane. Obviously, hand launches are the preferred takeoff mode. Now, I have rather short fingers and gripping the transmitter in one hand and manipulating the throttle, elevator and aileron sticks while flinging the airplane into the wild, blue yonder brings visions of a lawn dart and/or a momentary tail slide (as well as a tail-first not-so-gentle landing) to my mind. So, I said to myself, Self! Is there a right way to do this maneuver, namely a hand launch?. The response was eerily quiet; not a peep did Self utter. So where does any self-respecting researcher go for answers to such weighty questions? Why Google, of course. And so, you have the story of the birth of this month s Continuing Modeling Education segment. Now if all this is common knowledge to you, please keep it to yourself; I don t want to appear the complete dunce (even if that be the unfortunate truth). I appreciate your cooperation in this entreaty. Your Newsletter Editor Bruno Ph: (631) or bjsidor01@optonline.net 1

2 Meeting Minutes July 6 th, 2018 Once again, old man weather felt obligated to put in his two-cents and strongly suggested that we move our meeting indoors, which was made possible through the generosity of Roger Price who offered us the use of his conference room. President Andre Perez opened the meeting at 7:14pm with the Pledge of Allegiance, seven members in attendance. Treasurer s Report: Joe Tito presented the state of the treasury for the period ending June 30, There was no additional income realized this past month and the only outlay was for mower fuel and repairs. Field rent ranging all the way back to October of last year through this Juneis is being held in the club treasury pending negotiation of the final amount, considering the impact of our composting neighbor on our flight operations. Secretary s Report: We have received an inquiry through our website for assistance finishing a Work-in-Progress. If you are interested in responding, here is the request: From: B Manno <myalias172@optonline.net> Date: Sun, Jun 24, 2018, 4:48 PM Subject: Looking for a good builder To: <Flyingeaglesrcinfo@gmail.com> I'm hoping you might be able to help me... I'm looking for an experienced builder to finish a 60 scale P51 that my father was building before he passed away. Specifically I'm looking for someone who can insert an electric retrace tailwheel and fiberglass the underside of the wing. I'm happy to pay an appropriate fee, my goal is to finish this off real nice in memory of my father. Any thoughts or help identifying a quality builder would be greatly appreciated. Barry We have received a flier advertising the 16 th AMA Annual District II Fly In August Just a friendly reminder that The Long Island Skyhawks will be hosting their Dawn Patrol on August 2/3/4. Check it out at rcflightdeck.com. 2

3 If anyone needs a badge holder for their club card, your Secretary has them available at $1 per. These were donated last year by our very own Bubba Formhals as a way to add a little heft to the treasury. Field Report: Tony Simonetti reported that both mowers are back in operation, but are showing a lot of wear and tear. The main culprit is the effects of the grit picked up while mowing and the decks not being cleaned after each use. Be very cautious when riding the mowers because like many of our more experienced members, parts breakdown can occur at any time. And, as has been mentioned numerous times in the past, please display your Club Badge while at the field. With so many operations taking place on the property, we want to be sure that our identity is known. And, if approached, be courteous, avoid any confrontation and, if necessary, contact one of the officers if any conflicts occur. Old Business: Veteran s Memorial Airshow is now firmly in place for Sunday, September 9 th. Andre is tracking the permit and the publicity posters produced by the Parks office; he expects both in hand for the August meeting. We need to emphasize that the August meeting is extremely important; it will be the last real opportunity to get our ducks in a row for the airshow. Please make every effort to attend. It will be held indoors at Roger Price s facility, TRP Machine located at 35 Da Vinci Drive in Bohemia. For directions, hit Google Maps or similar, but if you don t like that route, here s how you get there; The address is TRP Machine, 35 Da Vinci St, Bohemia (First Building on right). --From Veterans Hwy, turn south onto Johnson Ave. and proceed until you reach the third street on your right, Davinci Drive. --From Sunrise Hwy, turn north on Johnson Ave and proceed until you reach the second street on your left, Davinci Drive. Andre s cell number is (631) if you need additional info. The search for an alternate field continues. Andre is sitting on a maybe, but he is waiting on a response from the owner. Bubba also has his eye on a site. These searches take time and, just maybe, issues with our current site will be resolved in the near future. Stay tuned for later developments. New Business: While Andre was coordinating our September airshow with the Sunken Meadow State Park manager, the Manager advised that Parking Lot 2, the lot we have used for our air shows for lo these many years, will be resurfaced starting sometime after our show. The renovation will also entail extending the picnic area north of the field into the current parking area, just how much is uncertain. What the effect on our future airshows will be is yet to be determined. During the discussion, the Park Manager brought up the subject of winter flying at the park. He showed Andre a site at the park and another in Nissequogue Park. Andre reported that the Sunken Meadow site is surrounded by trees and would make for challenging takeoffs and landings. As for the other site, the field is adequate for winter flying. It is Andre s understanding that members of the Suffolk Aero Modelers also use it in winter, but it open to all who have a NYS permit to fly model planes. Show & Tell: Stealth was the order of the day; we couldn t see a thing. Fickle Finger of Flight: Once again, perfect flying by all members. We are on pace for a No Hitter, pun very definitely intended. Pres Perez officially closed the meeting at 8:07pm. Respectfully submitted, Bruno Sidor, Secretary 3

4 Continuing Modeling Education Hand Launches made Easy Gerry Yarrish; Model Airplane News Newsletter Don t have a perfectly manicured runway? Don t sweat it, you can easily hand launch your plane to get it airborne. Here are five easy steps to perfecting this handy technique. Remember to always launch your model while facing straight into the wind. Don t throw your model downwind (with wind at your back), this will cause the model to stall, lose lift possibly striking the ground. Step 1: Turn on your transmitter and receiver and add a few clicks of up-elevator trim. Step 2: Grasp the model in your strong hand, and hold the transmitter with the other so you can advance the throttle with your thumb as soon as the model is in the air. Step 3: Take a step or two forward, and toss the model forward and slightly upward with its wings and nose up or level. 4

5 Step 4: As soon as the model is clear of your launch hand, smoothly bring your hand down, and grasp the control stick. Step 5: Never take your eyes off the model. If the model starts to climb excessively, add a touch of down-elevator. If it banks sharply and begins to veer off course, use some rudder and aileron input to keep it on a straight climb with wings level. Don t begin a turn until your model is at a safe altitude of 50 to 75 feet. For some sport or scale designs, because of landing gear placement or scale accessories, the singlehanded overhand pitch is difficult. You either have to grasp the plane s fuselage behind the wing (which is often too far aft of the balance point), or you can hold the plane from above the wing and launch it underhand in a nose-high altitude at a 20-degree angle. Holding the fuselage too far aft usually causes the model to pivot nose down during the launch. A far better and safer way is to have a friend hold the plane with two hands (one in front of the wing and one aft), so it can be launched sidewinder style, not exactly overhead. With micro RC planes, you don t even have to move or step forward. Just toss the model level with the ground and add power after it leaves your hand. 5

6 When it comes to smaller, electric powered ducted-fan jet models, a safe and easy way to launch is using a bungee assist. With a buddy taking care of the model release, you will have both your hands on the radio and you won t be distracted and can deal with the controls to keep the model flying straight and true until you get up on step and have enough airspeed for a safe climb out. You need to be especially aware when launching pusher-type model airplanes. With the prop in the tail, there is increase changes that the propeller can hit your launch hand. Always apply power to the motor after the pusher plane is safely free of your launch hand. Another technique is to hold the model from above with you hand just forward of the balance point. You can then use an upward underhand motion to launch the plane. Learning to hand launch RC planes will serve you very well and taking some basic precautions will allow you to do it safely! Have fun! NEXT MEETING Friday, August 3rd At LRL Machine, Bohemia (Google or follow directions under Old Business) Business Meeting Starts at 8:00pm 6